2006 - A Year Of Weight Loss December 21, 2006
This post is part of the Problogger group writing project Reviews and Predictions.
It’s hard to believe it was just over a year ago that I started exercising regularly. I managed to keep up the exercise for most of the year, except for a few interruptions like winter, injuries, etc. Each time I’ve been able to get back into the habit, though, which is good. I’ve never been able to maintain an exercise routine for this long before! I don’t think it’ll be a problem to keep going through Christmas like I did last year.
I think the single most important piece of exercise equipment I have is my iPod. Exercise has always been incredibly boring for me in the past, but listening to audio books and podcasts has been fantastic. I actually look forward to getting out and listening to the latest stuff! Being a gadget geek, my Polar heart monitor and Garmin GPS have also given me good motivation and a sense of progress as my fitness improved.
The 30 Day Technique has been a great way to introduce changes to my lifestyle. It allows me to make just one or two changes at a time, without feeling the pressure of thinking of them as permanent changes.
My overall fitness has increased immensely this year. I’ve gone from being puffed climbing a single set of stairs, to running a mile, running 3 km, and even running 5 km in under 27 minutes.
In terms of weight loss, I managed to get down from 108 kg at the start of the year to 89 kg today. Most of the weight loss occurred in the first half of the year (I guess that’s when I made the most drastic lifestyle changes!), but I’m very pleased that it hasn’t crept up since then. A great free tool for tracking your weight is PhysicsDiet.com, where you can see my public profile.
The most motivational story I read/watched this year, by far, was that of The World’s Strongest Dad. Having a disabled daughter myself, that video brings a tear to my eye every time I watch it. Check it out if you haven’t already!
Looking ahead, my main goals for this year are:
- to update this blog more regularly
- to enter a local 5 km fun-run
- to run 10 km
- to lose another 10 kg or so, and keep my weight around 80 kg
I’d love to hear from other people either just starting out on the path to fitness, or having overcome some obstacles and making good progress. We can definitely all benefit from sharing, learning from each other, and providing encouragement. Leave your URL in the comments below!